U.S. needs open leadership, not talking points

President Obama speaks to hundreds of Michigan students packed into an intramural gym on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, April 2, 2014.
Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press(Photo: Eric Seals Detroit Free Press)

Nearly 50 journalism and open-government groups wrote to the White House, complaining about the way public-information officers stifle the flow of information from experts through reporters to the public.

A three-page reply from press secretary Josh Earnest listed ways President Obama has increased openness, but never addressed the core complaint the journalists raised other than to promise a "robust and honest discussion."